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Episode 5: Polarized
Note: This page contains spoilers for the currently released episode and may contain spoilers for previous episodes. Polarized is the fifth Episode of Life Is Strange. It is available on PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. Release It was launched on 20th October 2015, almost 3 months after Episode 4: Dark Room. There have been uploaded 6 teaser trailers for Episode 5 and one day before, 19th October, the official date trailer was uploaded. Content Max learns that time is impossible to control and that her power carries many consequences as she moves inexorably towards the most agonising decision of her life. Arcadia Bay, meanwhile, is preparing to weather a huge storm as Life is Strange comes to a gripping and gut wrenching conclusion. Summary Max is held captive inside the bunker with Mark Jefferson, but by using her powers, she manages to escape into a photograph. Emerging back at the beginning in Jefferson's class, it is made possible for her to inform David Madsen of her kidnapper's identity—Jefferson is caught, Chloe is rescued and Max is afforded the opportunity to go to San Francisco and have one of her photos displayed in an art gallery. She calls Chloe from the event, realizing that, for all her effort, the storm is still in existence as it reaches Arcadia Bay. Max teleports to the time she took the gallery photo, which eventually leads her to sojourn alternative realities as they devolve into a dreamscape nightmare. By the story's end, Max arrives at the lighthouse with Chloe. They confront the fact that Max brought the approaching super storm into existence by availing herself of the time travel abilities in the first place. Max must make a final choice, sacrifice Chloe's life in order to save Arcadia Bay, or leave Arcadia Bay in ruins to prevent Chloe's demise. As the storm edges closer towards Arcadia Bay, Max faces off against an unexpected enemy. Main Choices In Polarized, the only and last major choice to do is to make a final sacrifice between saving Chloe and allowing Arcadia Bay to be destroyed, along with your friends and all it's residents being killed, or saving Arcadia Bay and sacrificing Chloe, allowing her to die in the bathroom in order to prevent the tornado from occuring and thus sparing the town. Note, these are also the choices which cannot be rewinded except focusing on the photo before the time Chloe died. * Sacrifice Arcadia Bay — 45% of players refused to allow Chloe to be sacrificed for the sake of preserving Arcadia Bay, and accepted the disastrous tornado produced by Max's time traveling. As a result, the two best friends survive the tornado that kills the residents of Arcadia Bay and leaves the town in ruins. In the aftermath of it's destruction, Chloe and Max are then seen driving through the town to witness the damage, before leaving Arcadia Bay together onto an ambiguous future where fate may or may not attempt to correct Chloe's death once again. * Sacrifice Chloe — 55% of players chose to accept Chloe's fate of dying in the bathroom at the hands of Nathan. Max travels back in time and does not interfere in Chloe's confrontation with Nathan. Later, Nathan is arrested for the death of Chloe, and while being interrogated, confesses about his affiliation with Mark Jefferson, the Dark Room, and Rachel Amber's disappearance, to that of which also results in Jefferson's incarceration. Through Chloe's sacrifice, justice has been served, and the destruction of Arcadia Bay and the death of its residents has also been averted. Shortly after, Max attends Chloe's funeral and mourns her death. It is through her loss, that Max finally reflects upon her decisions and takes full responsibility over the consequences of her time traveling, thus maturing as a person. Deaths * Nathan Prescott - (Confirmed Fate) 'Mark Jefferson mentions that he murdered Nathan and plans to pin his murders on him. However this is changed after Max warns Chloe in the past. He is arrested at the end for the murder of Chloe if Max chooses to sacrifice her in order to save Arcadia Bay. * Victoria Chase - ('Determinant) If Max warns Victoria about Nathan in the previous episode, she will go to Mr. Jefferson who will capture her. Later, after Max returns to the dark room, Mr. Jefferson will reveal that he killed Victoria because he believes that she's where she should be. She is seen alive during Chloe's funerals if Max chooses to save Arcadia Bay's population. * Mark Jefferson - (Determinant) In the original timeline if Max tells David that Mark murdered Chloe, David will execute him. However this is changed after Max warns Chloe in the past. * The Trucker - (Determinant) 'If Max doesn't help the trucker out from under his truck he will remain crushed underneath it. * Evan Harris - '(Determinant) 'If Max waits too long, Evan will be too distracted by the storm and a metal visor will take him out. * Alyssa Anderson - '(Determinant) 'If Max did not save Alyssa in more than 3 episodes and Max talks to her, she will back away from Max and will fall into a hole in the floor of her apartment. * The Fisherman - '(Determinant) '- Max will accidentally electricute the fisherman to death in order to get past the fire, and if Max leaves without rewinding and warning him, he will stay that way. * Officer Berry - Officer Berry can be seen crushed under a police car outside the diner. * The Homeless Woman - '(Determinant) 'If Max chooses not to warn the homeless woman about the storm in Episode 3, she will be crushed by the dumpster. * Warren Graham, Joyce Price, Frank Bowers and Pompidou - '(Determinant) ' They die in a gas explosion in the diner. Max can rewind and prevent that. * Chloe Price - '(Determinant) If Max chooses to go back to the day she stopped Nathan from shooting Chloe and allow him to do so, Max will prevent the storm from happening and consequently will save Arcadia Bay's population. * All of Arcadia Bay's population - (Determinant) If Max chooses not to sacrifice Chloe, then the storm destroys Arcadia Bay and presumably kills everyone except Max and Chloe. Walkthrough This passage is supposed to give you detailed information on the episode. After the events of the previous episode, Max finds herself again in the Dark Room, tied to a chair. If you warned Victoria at the End Of The World Party, she will be lying dosed on the floor next to Max. There will be a trolley with lots of things, like syringes, photos, and water. First, detach your right feet, and pull it to you. After focusing on the photo, Max will wake up with hands tied, lying on the floor, with Jefferson taking pictures of her. He is angry because she moves too much, and will prepare another dose to calm her. Max kicks the trolley, and spills water on the photos he took, causing him to take others. The focus ends, and she is back again. Now, there are other photos due to what she did. In one of them, she is conscious. Max focuses on it, and you'll have a dialogue with Jefferson, where he will explain why he's doing this, among with Nathan's involvement and Rachel's death. While he is going to develop the shots in the computer, Max catches sight of her diary. Then rewind, and ask Jefferson about it. He will say that the selfies are waste of talent, and will throw the open diary right in front of Max in the chair. Focus on the selfie, and you'll be back to the Art Class in Episode 1. At this point, Jefferson has no idea that she is aware of the Dark Room. Max, who has lived an entire week, can comfort Kate, making sure she will not attempt suicide, and confronting Victoria about Kate's video. Max texts David (you'll need to search for his number in Blackwell's Phone List, inside Max's bag), telling him everything about Jefferson, Rachel, and the Dark Room, and deletes the message from her phone right after sending it, for security purposes. Then, she enters her photo-memorial selfie for the Everyday Heroes Contest, to make it easy ''to ''capture ''Jefferson. When the focus closes, a slideshow of pictures shows all the original events being rewritten. The Dark Room is invaded by David and the police, Jefferson is arrested in school, the police discover Rachel's body in the Junkyard, and Max wins the contest. The last picture shows her with Chloe, alive, in her room in Blackwell. Max wakes up in the plane to San Francisco, with Principal Wells sleeping in the seat next to her. Looking at the blur outside of the window, she realizes that she ''still is in a focus between ''realities. Due to the many photo-jumps in a short space of time, she has a nosebleed, like in Episode 2, when she rewinded too much in the ''shooting session ''with Chloe, and by freezing time trying to save Kate. ''See here for diary entries and messages from this episode. Unresolved Issues and Open Questions There are many ideas developed throughout the season that weren't resolved in the final episode and a lot of questions remaining unanswered. Please add your thoughts here. * If Max created the storm by messing with time, changing the course of everything and jumping into alternative realities, ''why did ''she got the powers in the first place? Theories and Interpretations * It's possible that the people in the Two Whales diner, Warren, Joyce, Frank, and Pompidou are still alive. In the ending where Arcadia Bay is sacrificed, as Max and Chloe drive through the town, they pass the diner which is still standing. However, in the other timeline it exploded without Max's intervention, which was due to an oil fire from Frank's RV. * Also, David may have survived if Chloe is spared by the player, as during the storm he tracks down Jefferson in the Dark Room (with or without policemen). So he may have survived, being safe in the Dark Room underground. * It's very likely that Kate survived the Storm in the Sacrifice Arcadia Bay ending, as she actually planned to leave the town on Friday morning with her parents from the hospital after her suicide attempt, so she isn't there when the storm hits. * The Blue Butterfly - Category:Life Is Strange Category:Episodes Category:Article stubs